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Bonnier UK to cease new acquisitions for Echo 

Friday, 13 February 2026
Bonnier Books UK has announced the company will cease new acquisitions for its Australian imprint, Echo Publishing, effective immediately. “For the past 5 years, Bonnier Books UK has invested in Echo...

Readings Best of the Best 2025

Thursday, 12 February 2026
Readings has shared its Best of the Best 2025, a list of books picked by staff and voted on by the public. The chosen titles are: Australian fiction Tenderfoot (Toni...

QUT to become new custodian of “Meanjin”

QUT vice-chancellor Margaret Sheil Thursday, 12 February 2026
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) will become the new custodian of literary journal Meanjin, bringing the publication back to Brisbane 80 years after it relocated to Melbourne. In September last year,...

Local publishers on Bologna Prize shortlist

Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Local publishers have been shortlisted for the 2026 Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year. Publishers shortlisted in the Oceania category are: Affirm Press (Australia) Hardie Grant Children's...

Ruffino joins Keeperton as head of commercial strategy 

A photo of Dan Ruffino. Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Keeperton has appointed Dan Ruffino to the newly created role of head of commercial strategy. Ruffino has over 30 years in the publishing industry, with roles in sales, publicity, marketing and...

Hachette Australia announces “Belonging and Storytelling” event

Hachette Australia logo. Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Hachette Australia, Australian Publishers Association (APA), Media Diversity Australia (MDA) and Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) have partnered to present “Belonging and Storytelling: Diversity in Publishing”. A dedicated space for First...

PRH acquires Hannan’s next novel

A photo of Victoria Hannan. Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired Australian rights to I Love the Whole World! by Victoria Hannan, a novel about friendship, ageing and the extra/ordinary act of deciding to...

Griffiths announced as Australian Children’s Laureate

A photo of Andy Griffiths. He is leaning against a bookshelf and smiling at the camera. Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Andy Griffiths has been named the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2026 and 2027. Griffiths is author of over 30 books, including the JUST! series, the Treehouse series (both illus by...

Affirm acquires Blue-eyed Kayla Jade’s memoir

Blue-Eyed Kayla Jade Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Call Girl Confidential by Blue-Eyed Kayla Jade, via a deal brokered by Lem Zakharia from Bedou. According to the publisher, Call Girl Confidential...

Riveted Press acquires Roe’s middle-grade novel

A photo of Katrina Macdonald Roe. Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Riveted Press has acquired world rights to The Stolen Bairn, a middle-grade historical fantasy by children’s author and media professional Katrina Macdonald Roe. Set 200 years ago in Scotland and...

Folio website launched

Tuesday, 10 February 2026
A new website, Folio, has been launched showcasing stories from the Australian comics community, using oral histories and ephemera from the period 1980 to 2020, aimed at creators, readers and...

CBCA announces new award category

Tuesday, 10 February 2026
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced the introduction of the Middle Readers Book of the Year category from the 2027 CBCA Book of the Year Awards. From...

Allen & Unwin acquires Duncan’s “Musquito”

A photo of Naomi Parry Duncan. Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Musquito: The real story of a legendary colonial warrior, a biography of the First Nations resistance warrior known as Musquito, written...

Simon & Schuster staff changes

Simon & Schuster logo Monday, 9 February 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has reorganised its Australia and New Zealand sales team, with Elissa Baillie moving into a wider role and Keiran Rogers departing the organisation. From today...

Sorrento Writers Festival announces 2026 program

sorrento writers festival logo Monday, 9 February 2026
The Sorrento Writers Festival (SWF) has announced its 2026 festival program, running from 23 to 26 April 2026 in Sorrento, Victoria. This year's festival will feature over 180 speakers across...

Newcastle Poetry Prize shortlist announced

Thursday, 5 February 2026
The Hunter Writers’ Centre has announced the 2025 shortlist for the $15,000 Newcastle Poetry Prize. Shortlisted poets are: Ann-Marie Blanchard for “Medea with the Graceful Feet” Owen Bullock for “Systolic”...

Woollett and Twyford-Moore announced as KYD critics

An image of Sam Twyford-Moore next to an image of Laura Elizabeth Woollett. Thursday, 5 February 2026
Kill Your Darlings (KYD) has announced Laura Elizabeth Woollett and Sam Twyford-Moore as two regular critics for the magazine. During 2026, Woollett and Twyford-Moore will each write and publish long-form...

Australia Reads forms not-for-profit with new board 

Thursday, 5 February 2026
Australia Reads has become an independent not-for-profit organisation with a new board. The move comes after Writing Australia named Australia Reads as a delivery partner and granted funding of $300,000...

Hardie Grant acquires Galea book on dreams

Photo of Matthew Galea. Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Hardie Grant has acquired world rights to A–Zzz of Dreams: Decoding Your Dreams and Deciphering Your Future, in a two-book deal with Matt Galea. A–Zzz of Dreams is a guide...

MidnightSun acquires McDermott’s debut YA

A photo of Meg McDermott. Wednesday, 4 February 2026
MidnightSun Publishing has acquired The Big Things, a YA novel from debut author Meg McDermott. According to the publisher, The Big Things is story about the unbreakable bond between teen...

FALS announces Rowland Manuscript Development Grant winner

Terri-ann White Wednesday, 4 February 2026
The Foundation for Australian Literary Studies (FALS) has named Terri-ann White as recipient of the $5000 PF Rowland Manuscript Development Grant, which is offered annually to support a book project....

NewSouth acquires Tiffany novella

Carrie Tiffany Tuesday, 3 February 2026
NewSouth has acquired Australian publishing rights to The Lady with the Dog, a new novella by Carrie Tiffany, with illustrations by Noel McKenna, in a deal with Curtis Brown literary agent...

Affirm acquires Katherine debut novel

Judith Katherine Photo Credit Emma Grant Williams photography Tuesday, 3 February 2026
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Judith Katherine’s debut novel, Simply Beside Herself, described as “a warm, charming novel about reclaiming independence at every stage of life.” “When Elizabeth...

A&U acquires Spratt debut novel

Maree Spratt Tuesday, 3 February 2026
Allen & Unwin has acquired world rights to The Followers, a debut novel by Maree Spratt. A&U described The Followers as “a keenly observed and darkly funny exploration of coming of...